Vicky Bloomer of DROP Consulting: Supporting Irrigated Agriculture in Hawke’s Bay
Vicky Bloomer talks to students about taking pressure measurements to test pressure-regulating valves on a pivot irrigator, May 2022.
V
icky Bloomer, the owner and director of DROP Consulting, has long experience with irrigated agriculture. Her time at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council, an irrigation company, and Irrigation New Zealand (IrrigationNZ) gave her a thorough understanding of the pressures affecting irrigated farmers, water suppliers, and regulators, which she brings to her consulting work. In this interview, she tells Irrigation Leader about recent changes in metering and data collection and explains why and how Hawke’s Bay farmers can become more water efficient. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the main features of irrigated agriculture in the Hawke’s Bay area.
8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2022
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position. Vicky Bloomer: My father was heavily involved with IrrigationNZ when I was a teen. He did a lot of irrigation performance evaluation work. He used to take me out on school holidays to be his helping hand. That got me interested in farming and irrigation, but that wasn’t necessarily what I planned to pursue. Later, I completed a degree in natural resource management and began working for the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council as an enforcement officer, mainly enforcing the rules for irrigation takes. Eventually, I lost the stomach for enforcement work. The regional council recognized irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF IRRIGATIONNZ.
Vicky Bloomer: Hawke’s Bay is separated into two main growing areas. The Heretaunga Plains are home to thousands of hectares of apples and most of the region’s viticulture. There are also a lot of vegetables that are grown for processing, such as beetroot, onions, and squash, and pockets of fresh vegetables and fruits. It is very diverse.
Further south, in Central Hawke’s Bay, you’ll find most of our dairy farms, irrigated sheep and beef farms, and a lot more arable and process cropping. Central Hawke’s Bay is also home to a little bit of irrigated apples and viticulture, but nothing on the scale of the Heretaunga Plains.
